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  BACKGROUND: Stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Associations between short-term exposures to particulate matter (PM) air pollution and stroke are inconsistent. Many prior studies have used administrative and hospitalization databases where misclassification of the type and timing of the stroke event may be problematic. METHODS: In this case-crossover study, we used a nationwide kriging model to examine short-term ambient exposure to PM10 and PM2.5 and risk of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke among men enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Conditional logistic regression models were used to obtain estimates of odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) associated with an interquartile range (IQR) increase in PM2.5 or PM10. Lag periods up to 3 days prior to the stroke event were considered in addition to a 4-day average. Stratified models were used to examine effect modification by patient characteristics. RESULTS: Of the 727 strokes that occurred between 1999 and 2010, 539 were ischemic and 122 were hemorrhagic. We observed positive statistically significant associations between PM10 and ischemic stroke (ORlag0-3 = 1.26; 95% CI: 1.03-1.55 per IQR increase [14.46 μg/m3]), and associations were elevated for nonsmokers, aspirin nonusers, and those without a history of high cholesterol. However, we observed no evidence of a positive association between short-term exposure to PM and hemorrhagic stroke or between PM2.5 and ischemic stroke in this cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides evidence that ambient PM10 may be associated with higher risk of ischemic stroke and highlights that ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes are heterogeneous outcomes that should be treated as such in analyses related to air pollution.

Increasing number of studies have investigated the impact of maternal exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes, particularly low birth weight (LBW, <2,500 g at birth) and preterm birth (PTB, <37 completed weeks of gestation). We performed a comprehensive review of the peer-reviewed literature and a meta-analysis to quantify the association between maternal exposure to particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter 2.5 and 10 μm (PM 2.5  and PM 10 ) during pregnancy and the risk of LBW and PTB. We identified 20 peer-reviewed articles providing quantitative estimate of exposure and outcome that met our selection criteria. There was significant heterogeneity between studies, particularly for findings related to PM 10  exposure (LBW,  I -squared 54%,  p  = 0.01; PTB,  I -squared = 73%,  p  < 0.01). Results from random-effect meta-analysis suggested a 9% increase in risk of LBW associated with a 10-μg/m 3  increase in PM 2.5  (combined odds ratios (OR), 1.09; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.90–1.32), but our 95% CI included the null value. We estimated a 15% increase in risk of PTB for each 10-μg/m 3  increase in PM 2.5  (combined OR, 1.15; CI, 1.14–1.16). The magnitude of risk associated with PM 10  exposure was smaller (2% per 10-μg/m 3  increase) and similar in size for both LBW and PTB, neither reaching formal statistical significance. We observed no significant publication bias, with  p  > 0.05 based on both Begg's and Egger's bias tests. Our results suggest that maternal exposure to PM, particularly PM 2.5  may have adverse effect on birth outcomes. Additional mechanistic studies are needed to understand the underlying mechanisms for this association.

The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between environmental changes and infectious diseases and their impact on health in environmental justice (EJ) communities. The evolution of EJ science and research is contingent upon an integrated approach that takes into account social processes and environmental changes to address the burden of infectious diseases in EJ communities. We recognize that infectious disease and environmental justice is novel and calls for more research in this area, especially as the focus of public health shifts towards an ecologic and social approach to disease prevention. We attempt to explore in further detail how environmental changes such as urbanization, agriculture, and climate variability could potentially influence pathogen dynamics, vector transmission, host susceptibility, and disease outcomes among environmental justice populations.

Long-term, Global Ground Water Depletion

Collaborative science brings together diverse stakeholders to share knowledge and form networks that in turn can be foundational to policies and practices to increase socio-ecological resilience. In this article, we present results from a collaborative science project that employed collaborative learning methods to develop a network of local, regional, state and academic stakeholders. These stakeholders had little social interaction prior to the project and represented a diversity of views, positions and responsibilities. They shared in common a concern for the effects of climate change on a coastal socio-ecological system and the desire to reduce vulnerabilities and enhance resilience. Through ethnographic and survey methods, we found that collaborative science and learning promoted the exchange of cultural and environmental knowledge and expertise among individuals who previously had no sustained interaction. Stakeholders perceived these exchanges as worthwhile in that they allowed individuals to express viewpoints and share knowledge and expertise, which was seen to have the potential to increase socio-ecological resilience. Our results suggest that social networks can emerge from collaborative science and learning projects and can become formally organized and help foster opportunities to enhance socio-ecological resilience.